Means for controlling railway-trains.



No. 636,3l3. unanimimw. 7, |399. H. BIERMANN. MEANS FOR GDNTRDLLINGRMLWAYTR'MNS.

(Application led Mar. 9, 1897.) Ium Model.)

,m M7 @y @j UNITED STATES 'ATnNT OFFICE.

HERMANN BIERMANN, OF BRESLAU, GERMANY.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING RAILWAY-TRAINS.

SPECIFICATION fOrmng part Of Letters Patent N0. 636,313, dated November'7, 1899. Application led March 9, 1897. Serial No. 626,670. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN BIERMANN, merchant, of Breslau, in theProvince of Silesia,Kingdom of Prussia,German Empire,have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Contrivanees for Keeping Check ofTrains Along the Line and for Ettectin g a Telephonic Communication fromthe Station; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same.

The invention relates to a contrivance for railway-lines by which one isable to control the movements of a train from the nearest station and toeffect a telephonie communication with it. For this purpose a controlapparatus, with two sets of clockwork, is connected with thestation-telephone. One set of clockwork acts independently of the train.

The other is so controlled by the train elec! trically that a deiinitenumber of revolutions of the locomotive-axle sufiice to advance the handof the clockwork to the next division of the dial. Thus one clockworkchecks oft' the time and the other the distance covered. The two setsare regulated so that the time and distance gages work evenly when thespeed is normal. Each of the two sets has a cogwheel the teeth of whichare so geared as to come into contact with one another directly when thetwo` sets of clockwork move unevenly, thus closing an electric circuitconnected with an alarm. The ringing of the bell is a proof that thetrain is not maintaining the prescribed speed. The action of thedistance-gage (the set connected with the train) further shows whetherthe speed is too great or too slow or whether the train has stopped andat what part of the line the train is for the time being. A telephonecan then be connected at the station with the wires leading to thetrain.

The accompanying drawings show a schematic arrangement of thecontrivanee.

Figure 1 shows the whole arrangement; Fig. 2, the arrangement of the twosets of clockwork and the connection of the distance-gage with thetrain. Fig. 3 is a section through the control apparatus.

The disk a', of non-conducting material, is so moved by axle a of thelocomotive A by means of a suitable transmission that it makes onerevolution after a certain distance has been covered-say one kilometer.Bearing on the periphery of a is the spring c, which comes in contactwith the pin b, attached to the disk, at every revolution of the latter.The pin b is connected with axle a,and through it with the rail c4.current source c5, attached to the train, passes from the contact-springc to the electromagnets c2 of the clockwork B (distance-gage) of thestation.

The current is conveyed from the contactspring c to the station by oneof the rails c6. For the purpose of clearness and distinctness thedrawings show the current conducted along a special line c'. In order touse c6 as conductor, the second rail c4 must naturally be insulated fromthe iirst. The current flows from the electromagnets c2 through the wirec3 to the rail c4 and thence back again to the contact-pin b. On theshaft d3 of the distance-gage B is the ratchet-wheel d2, the teeth ofwhich gear into the armature d, connected with the lever cl, which oncompletion of the circuit c c c2 c3 is attracted by the electromagnetc2. A cog-wheel f is attached to the distance-gage B and a cog-wheel eto the timegage C in such a way that when the act-ion is Yeven theircogs m n do not touch, but come intoinstant contact the moment as unevenaction is set up. The gage C is so regulated that where the speed of thetrain is normal the cog-wheel e has the same speed in its revolutions asthe cog-wheelfof the distancegage B. The time-gage C is regulated by theadj usting-lever Z and has a different motion for goods, passenger, andexpress trains, answering to the speed at which the trains in questiontravel. The wheels e and fleeing electrically connected with the wiresd4 and e2, the contact of the cogs m and n closes a circuit leading-toan alarm-bell h, with switch for breaking contact g. Thestation-telephone r', having the battery i4, is connected by means ofthe wires t2 and i3 with the wires crand c3, leading to the train, andcan be put in circuit by the plug-socket 'i'. The train is also providedwith a telephone k, which by means of the plug-socket Zt and the wiresk2 k3 can be connected with the wires c and c3, leading to the station.

The action of the arrangement is as follows: When a train leaves astation, the fact is tele- The wire c', fed by the graphed to the nextstation, where the time gage C is set in motion 'and regulated for thespeed of the train in question. Each revolution of the disk a',connected with the axle of the locomotive A, causes the circuit c c' c2c3 c4 to be closed and the electromagnet c2 to be charged, as the resultof the contact of the pin b with the spring c.' The lever d of thearmature (l is thus attracted by the electromagnet. The further progressof the train causes the circuit c c' c2 c3 cL1 to be broken againimmediately the pin b has passed over the spring c, the lever d of thearmature d being also released. The result of the attraction of thelever d by the electromagnet c2 is that the ratchet d2 is advanced thedistance of half a cog in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, by meansof a spring attached to the axle of the ratchet. The lever beingrcleased, the ratchet d2 again moves the distance of half a cog. Inother words, the hand of the distance-gage B advances one division ofthe dial at every revolution of the disk a. At the same time the hand ofthe time-gage C has also moved the same distance, so that the distancebetween the cogs m n remains constantly the same. Should the train cometo a standstill or not keep u p its proper speed, the circuit c c' c2 c3c4 either remains without current or closed for longer or shorterintervals, just as when the regular speed is maintained. Thedistance-gage B therefore does not act when the train has stopped. Onthe other hand, an abnormal speed causes the hand to move slower orquicker than the time-gage C. In consequence of the uneven action ofboth sets of clockwork the cogs m of the cog-wheel e after a longer orshorter time will come into contact with the cogs n of the cog-wheel f,Fig. 2, where the number of the cogs has been rightly chosen. Thiscontact closes the circuit da d4 g 7L c2 e and rings the bell h, whichis an evidence that the train is not keeping to its time or has stopped.The immediate circumstances are apparent from position of the hands ofthe gages B and C, Fig. l. The station official can thereupon put thebell 7i out of circuit with the switch g and switch on the telephone iby means of the plug-socket i'. The traintelephone 7s has previouslyswitched on by plugging at c, thus rendering a communication possiblebetween train and station.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. A means for controlling the speed of trains, comprising atime-clockwork, a cooperating clockwork, means controlled by the trainfor moving the cooperating clockwork in synchronism with thetime-clockwork, and means for giving an alarm when the two clockworksare out ot' synchronism.

2. A means for controlling the speed of trains, comprising atime-clockwork, a cooperating clockwork, both located at a station, aline-circuit controlled by a moving train and comprising conductors anda magnet for moving the cooperating clockwork in synchronism with thetime-clockwork, means for giving an alarm when the two clockworks areout of synchronism, a cab-telephone, a station-telephone, and means forconnecting said telephones with the line-circuit, whereby conversationmay be carried on.

3. A means for controlling the speed of trains, comprising atime-clockwork, a cooperating clockwork, both located at a station, aline-circuit controlled by a moving train and comprising conductors andan electromagnet for moving the cooperating clockwork in synchronismwith the time clockwork, means for closing the magnetic circuit andmeans for giving an alarm when the two clockworks are out ofsynchronism.

4. A means for controlling the speed ot trains, comprising atime-clockwork, an additional clockwork, both of said clockworks beingprovided with cog-wheels, the teeth or pins of one cog-wheel beingadapted to interfere with the other, means controlled by the train formoving the cooperating clockwork in synchronism with the time-clockwork,and means for giving an alarm when the two clockworks are out ofsynchronism.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' HERMANN BIERMANN.

Vitnesses:

BRUM NoRDwAY, ERNST KATY.

